Financial advisory storage system

ABSTRACT

A method implemented in a computer system for dynamically analyzing the status of a numeric system wherein the numeric system which includes one or more numeric objects such as inflow objects, outflow objects, account objects, variable objects, and pipe objects. The present invention also provides numeric objects having a growth property. In addition, the present invention provides single icons which represent either a row or column of a spreadsheet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to generating anddisplaying the status of a numeric system.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] A problem with current financial planning software for bothindividuals and businesses is that they do not display the financialstatus of a person or business in a way that is easy to use andunderstand. For example, conventional spreadsheet displays can shownumerical values for an individual's income, assets, liabilities,accounts and expenses, but do not do a good job of showing how theseitems are related. When a person changes one of these values, either byinputting a hypothetical value, adjusting a tax rate, adjusting aninterest rate, etc. the spreadsheet will display new results for theseitems but does not allow a user to see what specific factors caused thenew results. Even displaying results using bar graphs or pie chartswhich are more visually appealing do not solve this problem, becausesuch graphs and charts, like a spreadsheet display, do not visually showthe relationship between different items. Generally, all that the graphsand charts can do is show how income or expenses are divided up and nothow changes in income and expenses affect the values of bank accounts ortax liabilities.

[0005] Existing spreadsheets also have difficulty in showing how thestatus of a numeric system, such as a household budget or a businessbudget or inventory varies over time. For example, a typical spreadsheetprogram requires that a separate spreadsheet be set up for eachindividual time period for which a user wishes to see the status of ahousehold or business budget. Therefore, a conventional spreadsheet onlyallows a user to see a snapshot of a numeric system, such as a budget atcertain fixed periods of time, unless a user creates a spreadsheet foreach individual day, a cumbersome process. With a conventionalspreadsheet program, a user cannot simply enter a time period, such asthree days in the future, and have the spreadsheet calculate the valuesof all of the items in a household budget or a business' financial plan,if an individual spreadsheet has not been previously created for thedesired day. Therefore, conventional spreadsheet programs only providefixed periodic information on the status of a numeric system and do notallow for the dynamic analysis of numeric systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide amethod for dynamically analyzing a numeric system.

[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide visualdisplay of the financial status, actual or hypothetical, of anindividual, household or business which is easy to use and simple tounderstand.

[0008] It is another object of the invention to provide a visual displayof financial status, actual or hypothetical, of an individual, householdor business which visually shows the relationship between income,expenses, tax rates, interest rates and savings.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method implemented in a computer system for dynamicallygenerating the status of a numeric system comprising the steps of:generating at least one first inflow object having an initial value andproperties; generating at least one first account object having aninitial value and properties; generating at least one first pipe objectwhich defines a first mathematical relationship between the at least oneinflow object and the at least one first account object; generating anadjusted value for the first inflow object based on at least one memberof the group consisting of the first inflow object initial value, thefirst inflow object properties, the first account object initial value,the first account object properties, and the first mathematicalrelationship; and generating an adjusted value for the first accountobject based on at least one member of the group consisting of the firstinflow object initial value, the first inflow object properties, thefirst account object initial value, the first account object properties,and the first mathematical relationship.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method implemented in a computer system for dynamicallygenerating the status of a numeric system comprising the steps of:generating at least one first account object having an initial value andproperties; generating at least one first outflow object having aninitial value and properties; generating at least one first pipe objectwhich defines a first mathematical relationship between the at least oneaccount object and the at least one first outflow object; generating anadjusted value for the first account object based on at least one memberof the group consisting of the first account object initial value, thefirst account object properties, the first outflow object initial value,the first outflow object properties, and the first mathematicalrelationship; and generating an adjusted value for the first outflowobject based on at least one member of the group consisting of the firstaccount object initial value, the first account object properties, thefirst outflow object initial value, the first outflow object properties,and the first mathematical relationship.

[0011] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method implemented in a computer system for dynamicallygenerating the status of a numeric system comprising the steps of:generating at least one first inflow object having an initial value andproperties; generating at least one first outflow object having aninitial value and properties; generating at least one first pipe objectwhich defines a first mathematical relationship between the at least oneinflow object and the at least one first outflow object; generating anadjusted value for the first inflow object based on at least one memberof the group consisting of the first inflow object initial value, thefirst inflow object properties, the first outflow object initial value,the first outflow object properties, and the first mathematicalrelationship; and generating an adjusted value for the first outflowobject based on at least one member of the group consisting of the firstinflow object initial value, the first inflow object properties, thefirst outflow object initial value, the first outflow object properties,and the first mathematical relationship.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method implemented in a computer system for dynamicallygenerating the status of a numeric system comprising the steps of:generating at least one first account object having an initial value andproperties; generating at least one second account object having aninitial value and properties; generating at least one first pipe objectwhich defines a first mathematical relationship between the at least onefirst account object and the at least one second account object;generating an adjusted value for the first account object based on atleast one member of the group consisting of the first account objectinitial value, the first account object properties, the second accountobject initial value, the second account object properties, and thefirst mathematical relationship; and generating an adjusted value forthe second account object based on at least one member of the groupconsisting of the first account object initial value, the first accountobject properties, the second account object initial value, the secondaccount object properties, and the first mathematical relationship.

[0013] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there isprovided a numeric object having a growth property implemented in acomputer system.

[0014] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there isprovided a single numeric object comprising a column of cells of aspreadsheet.

[0015] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there isprovided a single numeric object comprising a row of cells of aspreadsheet.

[0016] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method implemented in a computer system for dynamicallygenerating the status of a numeric system comprising the steps of:generating at least one first numeric object having an initial value andproperties; generating at least one first conditional object; andgenerating an adjusted value for the first numeric object based on atleast one member of the group consisting of the first numeric objectinitial value and the first numeric object properties when the at leastone first conditional object fires.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The invention will be described in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

[0018]FIG. 1 illustrates an iconographic display generated by a numericanalysis engine of the present invention for a household budget;

[0019]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a numeric analysis engine of a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for processing conditional objects;

[0021]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for processing status objects;

[0022]FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for assigning a value to a numericobject;

[0023]FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for transferring value between numericobjects.

[0024]FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for transferring value between numericobjects using dependent pipes;

[0025]FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for performing integrity checks ofnumeric objects.

[0026]FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for creating and ordering an actionlists of numeric objects which are to grow; and

[0027]FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a sub-engine of a numeric analysisengine of the present invention for evaluating the growth expressionsfor numeric objects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Definitions

[0028] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “computersystem” refers to any type of computer system including an individualcomputer such as a personal computer, mainframe computer, mini-computer,etc. or a network of computers, such as a network of computers in abusiness, the Internet, etc.

[0029] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “entity”refers to, but not limited to, an individual, a household, a business,etc. whose status, either actual or hypothetical, is displayed using theiconographic display system of the present invention.

[0030] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “visualdisplay apparatus” includes apparatuses for displaying information suchas, but not limited to, computer monitors, LCD displays, LED displays,television displays, etc.

[0031] For the purposes of the present invention term “numeric object”refers to an object generated by a computer program which includes avalue and can include one or more properties. Examples of numericobjects include, but not limited to, inflow objects, account objects,outflow objects, variable objects, pipe objects, monitor objects andevent objects. Numeric objects can either be hidden or visuallydisplayed as icons on boxes.

[0032] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “value” of anumeric object refers to the numeric value of a numeric object. Thevalue of a numeric object can be a number, a monetary amount, a numberof goods, amount of raw material, a value of services, etc. The value ofa numeric object can be input by the user or be calculated based on therelationships among numeric objects in the numeric system of the presentinvention or when an event object fires or through a query to a datasource.

[0033] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “properties”of a numeric object refers to one or more properties associated with thenumeric object. For example, the interest rate of an account object is aproperty of the account object. The fact that a federal tax outflowobject is paid on April 15 of each year is a property of that object.That a particular outflow object requires the use of a money order is aproperty of that object. There are numerous types of properties whichcan be associated with a numeric object.

[0034] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “expression”refers to one or more mathematical formulas used in determining anadjusted value for a numeric object. For example, if the monthly incomefor an individual is $4000, the income tax rate is 25%, the amount to betransferred to a retirement account is 10% of monthly income, and theremaining amount of monthly income is to be transferred to a bankaccount, the expression for the amount of value to be added to the bankaccount is:

Salary[$4000]×(1−(Tax Rate[0.25]+Retirement Account Rate[0.10])

[0035] In this case, the above expression would have the effect ofadding $2600 to the adjusted valued of the bank account. Generally theterm “expression” refers to a mathematical formula governing the valueof a status object such as a pipe.

[0036] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “growth”refers to adjusting the value of a numeric object without transferringvalue by a pipe object. One example of growth is a bank account whichadds value based on the value of the bank account and the interest ratefor the bank account.

[0037] For the purposes of the present invention, a value or property is“dependent” or “based” on a particular value, property, the satisfactionof a condition, or other factor, if that value is derived by performinga mathematical calculation or logical decision using that value,property or other factor. For example, when the numerical invention ofthe present invention represents a household budget, the adjusted valueof the account object “bank account” can be “dependent” or “based” onthe value of an income inflow object, the value of a income tax outflowobject, the initial value of the bank account object, an interest rateproperty of the bank account object, and a condition being met, i.e.,the last day of the month occurring and thus causing the bank accountobject to accrue interest. Similarly, the interest rate property itselfis “based” on a time dependent condition, i.e., the last day of themonth occurring. For the purposes of the present invention, objects,values, and properties which are dependent on a time based conditionbeing met are referred to as being time dependent.

[0038] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “inflowobject” or “inflow” refers to a numeric object representing an inflow ofvalue into the numeric system of the present invention. Examples ofinflow objects are, but not limited to, objects relating to the incomereceived by an individual, a household or business. Inflow objects canalso relate to non-monetary inflows such as goods received by abusiness, the number of labor hours available to a business, the amountof raw material received by a business, etc. For inflow objects, theassociated inflow box can represent the initial value of the inflowobject, the adjusted value of the inflow object, or both the initial andactual value of the inflow object. For example, when the numeric systemof the present invention represents an individual's budget, the inflowbox representing the person's income can display the initial value ofthe income box (before taxes) and/or the adjusted value of the incomebox (after taxes). The initial value for an inflow box can be input by auser or calculated. For example, if an individual is to receive a raiseof 10% to their previous monthly salary of $4000 per month effective thefirst day of the year, when the first day of the year occurs, $400 isadded to the preliminary value of $4000 for the inflow “monthly income”to provide an initial value of $4400 for monthly income for theremaining months of the year.

[0039] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “outflowobject” or “outflow” refers to numeric objects representing an outflowof value from the numeric system of the present invention. When thenumeric system of the present invention represents a household budget,outflow objects can represent such things as expenses, taxes, rentpayments, utility bills, food, movie tickets, etc. In a business,outflow objects can represent such things as goods which are delivered,labor hours used, airline seats sold, etc.

[0040] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “accountobject” or “account” refers to a numeric object representing a valuewhich is held or owed by the numeric system of the present invention.For example, when the numeric system of the present invention representsa household budget, account objects can include, but not limited to,such items as checking accounts, bonds, loans, mortgages, etc. When thenumeric system of the present invention represents a business, they caninclude such items as inventory, available manpower hours left afterallocating the total manpower of a business to existing projects, unsoldtheater seats, etc.

[0041] For the purposes of the present invention the term “pipe object”or “pipe” refers to a computer program which defines a mathematicalrelationship between two numeric objects. For example, in a householdbudget, a pipe object connecting the inflow object personal income tothe outflow object federal income taxes can cause the value in thefederal income taxes object to increase in value based on the value ofthe income inflow object and the federal tax rate for that income. A“source object” for a pipe is a numeric object connected to a pipe fromwhich value is transferred by the pipe. A “destination object” for apipe is an object to which value is transferred by the pipe.

[0042] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “variableobject” or “variable” refers to a numeric object which has a constantvalue or a value calculated from a mathematical expression. Unlike mostinflow objects, outflow objects, account objects, the value of avariable object is not generally transferred, either in total or inpart, to another numeric object by a pipe. Instead, the value of avariable object is generally used in the process of calculatingadjustments to the value of numeric objects due to growth or due totransfers between numeric objects by pipes. Variable objects can be usedto keep track of such things as the annual inflation rate, the PrimeRate for banks, income tax rates, etc. For example, an variable objectcan be used to keep track of a cost of living index that is used toadjust an individual's monthly salary.

[0043] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “eventobject” or “event” refers to a numeric object which is activated i.e.provides instructions to one or more numeric objects when a time-basedcondition is met. Events generally have the properties of: frequency,time or date of firing, and actions to be taken. Examples of frequenciesare: once, daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually, annually, etc.Examples of time or date of firing are: first day of month, 15^(th) dayof month, last day of month, Jan. 17, 1999, etc. Examples ofinstructions are: increase bank account object value by the bank accountinterest rate, increase income inflow object value based oncost-of-living adjustment, change income inflow object value toretirement income value, etc. Therefore, an event for accruing interestfor a bank account object can have a frequency of “monthly,” a day ofoccurrence of the “15^(th) day of the month,” and an action of “increasethe bank account object value by the bank account interest rate”. Anexample of an event in a household budget system is an individual'sretirement.

[0044] For the purposes of the present invention, the “monitor objects”or “monitors” are objects which is activated i.e. provides instructionsto one or more numeric objects, when non-time-based conditions, such aslogical conditions, are met. For example, when the numeric system is ahousehold budget, when the value of an account object for a bank accountreaches a particular minimum balance necessary to avoid bank fees, thecondition for a monitor object can be met within the numeric systemwhich prevents an inflow object connected to the account by a pipeobject from adding any additional money to the account. Another exampleof a condition being met for a monitor object is the addition of valueto an outflow object for bank fees when the number of checks recorded inthe household budget exceeds a specified number. Yet another example ofa condition for a monitor being met is the interest rate property for afirst bank account object being greater than the interest rate propertyfor a second bank account object for an entity causing any left overvalue from an income object to be added to the first bank account objectvalue as opposed to the second bank account object value. The fact thata given outflow object is or will be paid using a money order can be oneof the properties of the outflow object.

[0045] For the purposes of the present invention, the terms“mathematical relationship” and “instructions” refer to how a firstnumeric object affects the properties or values of a second numericobject. For example, when the numeric system of the present inventionrepresents a household budget, the mathematical relationship between anincome inflow object and a federal income tax outflow object can be:multiply the initial value of the income inflow object by theappropriate tax rate to arrive at the value of the federal income taxoutflow object and subtract the value of the federal income tax outflowobject from the initial value of the income inflow object to provide anadjusted value for the income inflow object. Although the above arerelatively simple examples only involving multiplication andsubtraction, the mathematical relationship can be, if desired, morecomplicated and include logical statements, loops, subroutines, etc. ofthe type found in typical computer programs or financial analysissystems.

[0046] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “statusobjects” refers to inflow objects, account objects, outflow objects,variable objects and pipe objects. For the purposes of the presentinvention, the term “conditional objects” refers to monitor objects andevent objects.

[0047] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “numericobject icon” refers to the visual display of an icon representing anumeric object. For the purposes of the present invention, an icon canbe either “passive” or “active”. For the purposes of the presentinvention “passive icon” refers to an icon which cannot be activated,such as by double-clicking on the icon in Microsoft Windows®, to a allowa user to change the properties of the numeric object the iconrepresents. For the purposes of the present invention, “active icons”refers icons which can be activated by a user to allow the user tochange the properties of the numeric object the icon represents.

[0048] For the purposes of the present invention, icons can be either“individual icons” or “group icons”. For the purposes of the presentinvention, the term “individual icon” refer to icons which represent asingle numeric object. For the purposes of the present invention “groupicon” refers to icons which represent multiple numeric objects. Forexample, when the numerical system of the present invention represents ahousehold budget, a “household income” group icon can represent two ormore individual income “individual icons. Group icons can be expanded,extracted, collapsed, inspected, added, combined, etc by a user as istypically done with folder icons in windows-based computer operatingsystems. Group icons can also contain other group icons which allow forhierarchical relationships in a numeric system to be displayed.

[0049] For the purposes of the present invention, group icons can beeither “homogenous” or “heterogeneous.” For the purposes of the presentinvention, the term “homogenous group icon” refers to group icons whichrepresent a single type of numeric object: two or more inflow objects,two or more account objects, two or more outflow objects, two or morevariables, etc. The above example of a “household income” iconrepresenting two individual income icons is an example of a homogeneousgroup icon. Another example of a homogeneous group icon is a “householdexpenses” icon which represent a number of different outflow objecticons such as: rent, telephone bill, food, etc. For the purposes of thepresent invention, the term “heterogeneous group icon” refers to an iconwhich represents more than one type of numeric object. For example, whenthe numeric system of the present invention is used for a business plan,each division of a business can be represented by a heterogeneous groupicon. Each heterogeneous “department” icon can then represent all of thevarious inflow objects, outflow objects, account objects and pipeobjects for that department. For example, there can be a heterogeneousgroup icon for the public relations department, a heterogeneous groupicon for the technical support department, a heterogeneous group iconfor the manufacturing department, etc.

[0050] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “numericobject box” refers to a visual display of the value, either adjusted orinitial, of a numeric object. The value entered in a numeric object boxcan be entered by the user, a fixed amount, or an amount calculatedbased on the values of numeric objects which are part of the numericsystem of the present invention. A numeric object box can include iconsas opposed to numbers to represent a value. For example, the number ofhuman stick figure shaped icons in a numeric object box can representthe number of workers available to a business.

[0051] For the purpose of the present invention, the term “icon/box”refers to a graphical image and/or an enclosed area which represents anumeric object on a visual display apparatus.

[0052] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “pipe objecticon” or “pipe icon” refers to an icon representing one or more pipeobjects. The term “pipe object icon” refers not to only icons whichphysically link two icons on a display, but to icons such as lines,arrows, and symbols such as pipes which visually indicate that two icons(and their associated objects) are related to each other. A pipe objecticon can also be visually part of either or both of the icons beinglinked. For example, either or both of a pair of linked icons caninclude arrows which point from one icon to the other member of thepair. However, functionally the pipe object represented by the pipeobject icon would be separate from the numeric objects it connects, evenif visually the pipe object icon appears to be part of either one orboth of the two linked icons. A pipe object icon can also represent twoor more pipe object icons and their associated pipe objects. Forexample, on visual display of the household budget, an income objecticon and a bank account object icon can appear to be linked by a singlepipe object icon. When a user executes a command for a pipe object icon,the icon can split into two pipe object icons, one icon indicating moneypaid into the bank account and another indicating interest from the bankaccount which is added to the household's income.

[0053] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “semaphore”refers to a synchronization object that manages multiple threads in acomputer program. Because in the numeric analysis engine of the presentinvention, a stop, pause or reset action can occur while a numericanalysis thread is running, the numeric analysis engine can includesub-routines which check the semaphores in the analysis thread, forexample at the beginning of each day.

[0054] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “spreadsheetcell” refers both to the value displayed in a computerized spreadsheetcell or any underlying mathematical calculation associated with thedisplayed value of the cell.

[0055] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “spreadsheetrow” refers to a row of cells in a conventional computerizedspreadsheet.

[0056] For the purposes of the present invention, the term “spreadsheetcolumn” refers to a column of cells in a conventional computerizedspreadsheet.

Description

[0057] With reference to the Figures, wherein like reference charactersindicate like elements throughout the several views and, in particular,with reference to FIG. 1, which illustrates how the numeric system ofthe present invention can be used to create an iconographic display of ahousehold budget, a preferred embodiment of the invention isillustrated. An inflow object icon 2 represents monthly income, thevalue of which is displayed in numeric form in an inflow object box 4,coming into a household. Although the inflow object icon 2 in FIG. 1 isshaped like faucet, inflow object icons can be any convenient shape orcolor. A funnel 6 and pipe object icons 8, 10, and 12 represent thehousehold income flowing into three initial places: income taxes,represented by an outflow object icon 14 and an outflow box 16; aretirement account, represented by an outflow object icon 18 and anoutflow object box 20; and a bank account, represented by an accountobject icon 22 and an account object box 24. Although the outflow objecticon 18 is shaped like a drain and the account object icon is shapedlike a pitcher n FIG. 1, outflow object icons and account object iconscan be any convenient shape or color. From a budget standpoint, moneyfrom household income is first allocated to a before taxes retirementaccount. Next, based on the household's monthly taxable income, thehousehold's income is allocated to taxes, calculated based on thehousehold's income tax rate. After the retirement account amount andtaxes amount has been subtracted from monthly income, any remainingportion of the household's monthly income is added to any existingbalance in the household's bank account to provide an initial bankaccount amount (not shown) which can be allocated to the household'sexpenses, in the alternative the retirement amount can be withdrawn fromthe bank account after adding the income as discussed below. The flow ofmoney from the household's bank account to the household expenses isshown by a funnel 26 and pipes 28, 30, 32 and 34. The expensesthemselves are represented by an outflow object icon 36 and an outflowbox 38 for rent; an outflow object icon 40 and an outflow box 41 formonthly bills; an outflow object icon 42 and an outflow box 43 forautomobile expenses; and an outflow object icon 44 and an outflow box45. The amount of money displayed in box 24 for the bank account iscalculated by subtracting from the initial bank account amount theamounts shown in outflow boxes 38, 41, 43 and 45.

[0058] Also shown in FIG. 1 is an event object icon 46 for anindividual's retirement date. The presence of the event object icon 46indicates to the user that at least one of the numeric objects in thehousehold budget is affected by the individual's retirement dateoccurring. By inspecting an event object icon 46, such as by doubleclicking on it with a mouse in a windows-based operating system, a usercan find out which objects are affected by an individual's retirementdate occurring, and can edit the objects affected by the individual'sretirement date occurring. Although the event object icon 46 in FIG. 1is shaped like an alarm clock, event object icons can be any convenientshape or color. Although in the display shown in FIG. 1, the eventobject is represented on a computer screen by an individual icon, anevent can also be incorporated into the numeric objects affected by theevent. When the present invention is used with a windows-type operatingsystem, events can also be accessed by providing an entry for events ina pull-down menu (not shown) which allows a user to see how given eventsaffect numeric objects of the household budget. Event and monitor objecticons can be grouped together in a group icon.

[0059]FIG. 1 also shows a monitor object icon 47 which represents amonitor object that keeps track of the balance in the bank accountobject. When the bank account value falls below a particular amount, themonitor object represented by monitor object icon 47 can provide awarning to a user by a pop-up warning, or other means, that the value ofthe bank account object has fallen below a critical amount set by theuser or the system. Although the monitor object icon is shown as beingwatchdog shaped, monitor object icons can be any convenient shape orcolor. Also, like event objects, monitor objects can be incorporatedinto other numeric objects and can be accessed and edited through theuse of a pull-down menu or any other means known in the computer art.

[0060]FIG. 1 also shows a variable object icon 48 which represents avariable object for the annual rate of inflation on the day that thestatus of the household budget is being viewed. Although the variableobject icon 48 is shown as being shaped like a globe, variable objecticons can be any convenient shape or color. The rate of inflation isdepicted in variable object box 49 and can be entered by the user. Basedon the value of the inflation rate, the values of various numericobjects such as the inflow objects, account objects and outflow objectsin the household budget can be changed automatically by the numericanalysis engine of the present invention. For example, an increase inthe inflation rate can trigger an increase in the value of income due toa cost of living adjustment that an individual receives or can cause thevalue for monthly rent to increase during the next year if the value forrent is tied to inflation.

[0061]FIG. 1 also shows a slider bar 50 which allows a user in awindows-based operating system to move an indicator 51 along slider bar50 to see how the status of the household budget dynamically varies overtime. The date that the indicator 51 has been moved to is shown in datebox 52. Although only one type of slider bar 50 is illustrated in FIG.1, any type of slider bar, such as the slider bars used in MicrosoftWindows® and Windows NT®, can be used with the present invention toallow a user to display the status of the numeric system beingdisplayed. In conjunction with the slider bar, the display for thenumeric analysis system of the present invention, can use a set ofvirtual tape recorder buttons 53 of the type used in Microsoft Windows®to allow a user to play a compact disk in a computer. For example, whena user presses the play button 54 by clicking on button 54 with a mouse,the indicator 51 proceeds along the slider bar 50 and the date box 52shows increasing dates. When the indicator 51 reaches the desired date,the user can stop the indicator 51 from moving by pressing the virtualstop button 55. By pressing virtual fast forward button 56, a user canmove indicator 51 rapidly to the right and by pressing virtual rewindbutton 57 a user can move indicator 51 rapidly to the left. The virtualbuttons play, stop, fast forward, and reverse can also be executed froma menu, etc.

[0062] Although, in the embodiment just described, the iconographicdisplay produced by the object-based numeric analysis engine of thepresent invention represents how money in a household's budget isallocated, the object-based numeric analysis engine of the presentinvention can be used to prepare and display hypothetical budgets as canbe done with conventional spreadsheets or household budget software. Forexample, a user can input data for a different tax rate to see how sucha change reflects in the user's household budget. Similarly, a user cansee what effect changing the value of the amount put in a retirementaccount or increasing the amount paid in rent has on the overallhousehold budget.

[0063] For convenience, the household budget shown in FIG. 1 isrelatively simple. However the present invention contemplates theability to generate and display much more complicated household budgets.For example, there can be two inflow object icons and associated inflowboxes to represent each of the wage earners in a two income household ora single inflow object icon can represent more than one source ofincome. There can also be several inflows for each household orindividual in a household representing separate sources of income forthe household or individual. For example, there can be inflow objecticons and associated inflow boxes for wage income, dividend income, andcapital gain income. The amount for each of these inflow boxes can beinput by the user, obtained from a data source, such as a web-page for abank, or calculated. For example, income for a dividend inflow box canbe automatically calculated by multiplying the amount in a brokerageaccount at a particular time in the month by an appropriate yield. Inorder to avoid confusion as to what a particular inflow represents, whenthere are multiple inflow object icons, each of the icons can beseparately labeled and/or given a distinctive appearance based on thetype of income represented or the individual to whom the inflow objecticon belongs. Also, when desired, an individual user can use theobject-based numeric analysis engine to generate and display the user'sindividual income and expenses.

[0064] The inflow object icons can include indicators, such as differentcolors, which indicate that the inflows belong to particular categories.For example, outflow object icons personal income can be blue, inflowobject icons representing capital gains income can be red, etc. Althoughthe inflow object icon in FIG. 1 is in the shape of a faucet, inflowobject icons can have other shapes. For example, inflow object icons canbe shaped like dollar bills, personal checks, etc. The outflow objecticons can also be abstract shapes such a circles, squares, triangles,etc.

[0065] Although only one account object icon/box or account is shown inFIG. 1, the object-based numeric analysis engine of the presentinvention can be used to generate and display information for severalbank accounts as a single account object icon/box or as severalicons/boxes for different bank accounts. The allocation of income todifferent bank accounts can be represented by separate pipes leadingfrom a given income source to two or more different bank accounts. If auser does not care from which bank account money for expenses comes, theuser can simply use a single bank account object icon to represent allof the user's bank accounts. However, a user often wants only toallocate money for expenses from a particular bank account, such as achecking account, while leaving untouched the money accumulating inanother account, such as a savings account. Although account objecticons/boxes are often used to represent bank accounts such as checkingaccounts or savings accounts from which money can be readily withdrawn,account object icons/boxes can also be used to represent less liquidassets such as, but not limited to, life insurance policies, stocks orbonds. These different kinds of assets can also be represented bydifferent types of icons, such as a check for a checking account, apiggy bank for a savings account, a picture of a stock certificate forstocks held by the household. A general property of an account is thatit represents an ongoing asset for the household. In addition, anaccount icon/box can also represent an ongoing liability for thehousehold, such as an amount owed on a credit card account. In additionto being linked by pipe objects to inflow objects and outflow objects asshown in FIG. 1, accounts can be linked to other accounts by pipeobjects. For example, a checking account object can be linked by a pipeobject to a savings account object to allow money to be transferred fromthe checking account to the savings account once the savings accountexceeds a minimum balance.

[0066] Accounts can include indicators, such as different colors, whichindicate that the outflows belong to particular categories. For example,account object icons representing items with tax consequences can beblue, account object icons savings accounts can be red, etc. Althoughthe account object icons in FIG. 1 are in the shape of, the accounticons may have other shapes such as shaped like a ban, a slip of paperwith I.O.U. printed on it, etc. The account object icons may also beabstract shapes such a circles, squares, triangles, etc.

[0067] Outflows, in general, relate to an entity's expenses. For anindividual or household budget, outflows may include such items as, butnot limited to, grocery expenses, entertainment expenses, loan payments,utility bills, mortgage payments, taxes, etc. For a business, budgetoutflows may include such items as, but not limited to, capital outlays,salaries, loan payments, employee training expenses, equipment repairexpenses, etc. In general, outflows are visually connected to the iconof the inflow or account from which money for the outflow is drawn. Inthe case where the outflow represents a monthly or other periodic bill,a particular outflow may be permanently associated with an inflow, suchas for salary income, or with an account, such as a checking account.Alternatively, a user may change the inflow or account to which theoutflow, representing a monthly bill, is connected. The outflows mayinclude indicators, such as different colors, which indicate that theoutflows belong to particular categories. For example, outflow objecticons representing items with tax consequences may be blue, outflowobject icons representing monthly expenses may be red, etc. Although theoutflow object icons in FIG. 1 are in the shape of outflows for aplumbing system, the outflows icons may have other shapes. For example,the outflow object icon representing grocery expenses may be shaped likea grocery bag, the outflow object icon representing auto expenses may beshaped like a car, the outflow object icon representing repair expensesmay be shaped like a wrench, etc. The outflow object icons may also beabstract shapes such a circles, squares, triangles, etc.

[0068] Amounts entered or displayed in an outflow box may be an amountentered by a user, a fixed amount, a calculated amount or a randomnumber. For example, for irregular expenses such as gasoline, food,entertainment, etc., a user will usually simply enter the cost of anitem in an outflow box. There are still other cases, such as outflowsrepresenting taxes, where the amount entered in a particular outflow, iscalculated based on the amount entered in an inflow, such as monthlyincome, connected to the outflow by a pipe. The amount calculated by thecomputer program of the present invention to be entered in a particularoutflow box, such as an outflow box for real property tax or personalproperty tax, may also be calculated based on the value of an account,such as an account representing the value of a piece of real estate or acar, which is not connected by a pipe to the outflow.

[0069] Pipes represent connections between inflows and accounts, inflowsand outflows and accounts and outflows, and between two accounts. Ingeneral, when the numeric system of the present invention is used todisplay the status of a household budget, money flows, like water in aplumbing system, from inflows and accounts which are higher to accountsand outflows which are lower. The pipe object icons are preferablydesigned so that a user may pick up a pipe on the screen connecting twoicons and move it so that it connects one of the original icons to adifferent second icon. For example, a pipe connecting a loan payment toa checking account may be changed by the user so that the pipe connectsthe loan payment to a money market account, indicating that the user haschanged the source of money for loan payment. Although the pipe objecticons in FIG. 1 are shaped like pipes, pipe object icons according tothe present invention may take other forms such as lines or arrows orany figure connecting an inflow, an outflow or an account. The pipeobject icons may either be independent icons or they may be part of theinflow, account and outflow object icons. For example, each outflow mayinclude an arrow shaped pipe icon which may be pointed by the user inthe direction of cash flow from an inflow or account to which theoutflow is connected.

[0070] The date which is displayed by the iconographic display of thepresent invention may be input by the user by entering the datenumerically, or supplied by the user's computer when the user activatesthe program to display the status of the numeric system that day, or anyother means known in the computing art, etc. Because of the way theiconographic display of the present invention operates, it is evenpossible for the date displayed by the display to be controlled by awindows-type sliding bar which is manipulated by the user to show thestatus of the numeric system being displayed over time. The status ofthe numeric system may even be displayed dynamically by providingconventional virtual play, rewind, advance, and stop buttons on thedisplay to allow a user to see how the status of the financial modelwill change over a given period of time and to allow the user to freezethe display at a particular date.

[0071]FIGS. 2 through 10 illustrate how the object-based numericanalysis engine of the present invention generates the current status ofthe numeric system of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates how aobject-based numeric engine of the present invention may be used togenerate a household budget of the type illustrated in FIG. 1. When thenumeric engine is activated for the first time each day, the numericengine processes all of the time-based events for each day since thenumeric engine was last activated. The numeric engine also periodicallyprocesses all of the monitors and non time-based events for the numericsystem, preferably after each value or property of each numeric objectis adjusted due to events occurring or user input.

[0072]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the numeric analysis engine 60 of thepresent invention. Block 62 transfers control to box 64. Parametersinput by a user are read and control is transferred to block 66. Block66 starts a projection loop and transfers control to decision diamond68. If the semaphores have not fired, control is transferred back toblock 66. If the semaphores have fired, control is transferred to block70. Events are checked to see if the conditions causing the events tofire have been met. If the condition for an event has been met, theevent fires. After all events have been checked and the appropriateevents have fired, control is transferred to block 72. In block 72, anordered action list is created from the numeric objects which areaffected by the events which fired. Control is then transferred to block74, where the numeric objects. Control is then transferred to block 76.In block 76, based on the evaluations performed in block 74, value istransferred between numeric objects. Control is then transferred toblock 78. In block 78, integrity checks are performed on the valuetransfers between objects to insure that improper transfers have notoccurred in block 76. Control is then passed to block 80 where anordered growth list is created for numeric objects which are to grow.Then control is transferred to block 82 where the numeric objects in thegrowth list created in block 80 are increased or decreased in value asappropriate. Control is then transferred to block 84. In block 84, datais stored for each of the numeric objects in the numeric analysisengine. Control is then transferred to block 86 where the values for thenumeric objects are displayed. Control is then transferred to block 88.In block 88, the projection loop ends, if the last day of the projectionhas occurred. Otherwise, control is transferred back to block 66 Then,after the last day, control is transferred to block 90 and the numericanalysis engine stops processing numeric objects. Parts or “sub-engines”of the numeric analysis engine of the present invention are shown ingreater detail in FIGS. 3 through 10.

[0073]FIG. 3 illustrates a conditional object analysis sub-engine of thenumeric analysis engine of the present invention for processingconditional objects, both events and monitors. This sub-enginecorresponds to block 70 of FIG. 2. In the conditional object analysissub-engine 102, block 104 gathers together all of the conditionalobjects for the numeric system. As long as there are still conditionalobjects to be processed, decision diamond 106 transfers control to block108. Block 108 performs calculations and determines if a givenconditional object fires i.e. will be executed, because the conditionallowing the conditional object to fire has been met. For example, ifthe internal clock of the of the numeric analysis engine indicates it isOct. 31, 2020 a conditional object, such as an event for retirement willfire. If the conditional object being processed does not fire, decisiondiamond 110 transfers control back to block 106. If the conditionalobject does fire, decision diamond 110 transfers control to block 112.Block 112 retrieves the instructions associated with the conditionalobject which is to fire. After retrieving instructions for theconditional object which is to fire, block 112 transfers control toblock 114. Block 114 interprets the instructions for the conditionalobject which fires and executes these instructions which can internallychange the properties of any status object of the numeric system. Forexample, if the event “Retirement” fires, then the sub-engine 102indicates that that income equals zero, etc. This process is repeated byreturning to decision diamond 106 until there are no more conditionalobjects. When there are no more conditional objects to be processed,block 106 transfers control to block 116 and sub-engine 102 de-activatesand transfers control to block 120 of FIG. 4.

[0074]FIG. 4 illustrates a sub-engine 120 for processing all of thestatus objects for the numeric system and determines which statusobjects should be further processed and in what order of priority.Sub-engine 120 corresponds to block 72 in FIG. 2. Block 122 gathers allof the status objects in the numeric system being analyzed. As eachstatus object is processed, control is transferred to decision diamond124. As long as there are status objects still to be processed, decisiondiamond 124 transfers control to block 126. Block 126, decision diamond128 performs calculations to determine if the status object fires basedon the internal condition of the status object. If the status objectbeing processed will not fire, control is transferred back to block 124to determine if there is still a status object to be processed. If thestatus object being processed will fire, control is transferred to block130. Block 130 adds the status object to an action list of objects to befurther processed and then transfers control to block 124 to determineif there is still a status object to process. Once there are no furtherstatus objects to process, block 124 transfers control to block 132.which determines the dependencies of all of the status objects in theaction list and sorts the action list accordingly. For example, if theinflow object “monthly income,” the outflow object “income taxes,” andthe pipe object connecting “monthly income” to “income taxes” will fire,the inflow object will generally fire before the pipe object, therebygiving the inflow object an initial value, to allow the value to betransferred from the inflow object to the outflow object by the pipeobject. The pipe object also should fire before the outflow object, sothat the value to be added to the outflow object may be determined,prior to the outflow object firing, thereby receiving a value. Althoughonly a simple example of dependencies between objects has beendescribed, the numeric analysis engine of the present invention mayhandle complicated dependencies between objects as well.

[0075]FIG. 5 illustrates a sub-engine 136 for evaluating numeric objectsin the action list created by sub-engine 120 in block 132. Sub-engine136 corresponds to block 74 in FIG. 2. The process shown in sub-engine136 is repeated for each object in the action list. Block 138 transfersone of the numeric objects in the action list to block 140. Block 140“tokenizes” the expression associated with a numeric object into tokensi.e. sub-parts. These tokens are then lexically analyzed to determine ifeach token has a valid syntax. Then a parse tree is created thatreflects the syntax used in the expression. The parse tree thus createdis a computer representation of the flat expression and contains all ofthe arithmetic and logic rules needed to perform any subsequentevaluation of the numeric object. After creating the parse tree for thenumeric object, block 140 transfers control to block 142. Block 142evaluates the parse tree which assigns a value to the numeric object. Ifthere is another object, the process repeats. Block 144 returns controlto block 146 of FIG. 6.

[0076]FIG. 6 illustrates a sub-engine 146 which transfers values betweennumeric objects based on the values determined by sub-engine 136 for thenumeric objects in the action list. Sub-engine 146 corresponds to block76 in FIG. 2. Block 148 gathers the objects in the action list andtransfers control to decision diamond 150. If the object being processis an inflow, block 150 transfers control to block 152. Block 152 thensets the integrity value for the object, the value which is available tobe transferred from the inflow by the pipes connected to the inflow. Forexample, in the household budget illustrated in FIG. 1, the integrityvalue is $4,000. After setting the integrity value for the object, block152 transfers control to decision diamond 150 to determine if the nextobject is an inflow. If the object is not an inflow, block 150 transferscontrol to block 154. If the object is an outflow, block 150 transferscontrol to block 156. Block 156 sets the integrity value for theoutflow. For example, in the household budget illustrated in FIG. 1, theintegrity value for the outflow rent is $400. After the integrity valueis set, block 156 transfers control to decision diamond 150 to determineif the next object is an inflow. If the object is not an outflow, block154 transfers control to block 158. If the object is a pipe, block 158transfers control to decision diamond 160. If the pipe is a dependentpipe, a pipe which transfers a value which is dependent on the valuetransferred by another pipe, decision diamond 160 transfers control toblock 162. Block 162 adds the dependent pipe to a deferred pipe list andtransfers control back to decision diamond 150 to determine if the nextobject is an inflow. If decision diamond determines that the pipe is nota dependent pipe, diamond 160 transfers control to block 164. Block 164transfers value source object for the pipe based on a mathematicalexpression associated with the pipe and makes the value available fortransfer to the destination object for the pipe. Block 164 thentransfers control to block 166. Block 166 transfers the value madeavailable for transfer to the destination object for the pipe. Block 166then transfers control back to decision diamond 150 to determine if thenext object to be processed is an inflow object. Once all of the objectsin the action list have been processed by sub-engine 146, block 158transfers control to block 168 and the sub-engine 146 is deactivated andjumps to block 170 of FIG. 7.

[0077]FIG. 7 illustrates a sub-engine 170 for processing the dependentpipes. This sub-engine is accessed by block 168 of FIG. 6. Block 172determines the dependencies of the dependent pipes in the deferred pipedlist and places the pipes in order based on these dependencies. Block172 then transfers control to block 174. Block 174 transfers valuebetween the source object and destination object for each of thedependent pipes, based on the expression associated with each of thedependent pipes. Block 174 then transfers control to block 176 and thesub-engine 170 is deactivated and returns to block 178 of FIG. 8.

[0078]FIG. 8 illustrates a sub-engine 178 for performing integritychecks on the objects in the action list. Sub-engine 178 corresponds toblock 78 of FIG. 2. Block 180 gathers the objects in the action list andtransfers control to block 182. Decision diamond 182 checks theintegrity of the numeric object being processed. If the integrity isless than zero, then decision diamond 182 transfers control to block184. If the integrity of the object is not less than zero, then block182 transfers control to block 186. If control is transferred to block184, block 184 reports an overflow error and transfers control todecision diamond 186. An example of the integrity of an object beingless than zero is if more than $4,000 in value is indicated as beingtransferred from an income inflow having a value of $4,000. Block 186determines if the integrity of an object being processed is greater thanzero. If the integrity of the object is greater than zero, then decisiondiamond 186 transfers control to block 188. If the integrity of theobject is not greater than 0, then decision diamond 182 transferscontrol to block 190. If control is transferred to block 188, block 188reports an underflow error and transfers control to block 190. Block 190terminates the processing of the object being processed, and thesub-engine re-activates to process the next object in the action list,as long as there are objects in the action list remaining to beprocessed. After all items in the action list are processed, sub-engine178 returns to block 194 of FIG. 9.

[0079] If there are overflow or underflow errors, these errors may bereported to the user, indicating which objects are involved so that theuser may fix the problem in the numeric system. Alternatively, a fixingprogram may be invoked to make the appropriate changes in the numericobjects of the numeric system of the invention to cause the numericanalysis engine of the present invention to perform properly.

[0080] Once integrity checking is performed, sub-engine 192 shown inFIG. 9 is activated to create a growth lists for the numeric objects ofthe numeric system of the present invention. Sub-engine 192 correspondsto block 80 of FIG. 2. Block 194 of sub-engine 192 gathers together allof the objects of the numeric system and provides them one at a time todecision diamond 196. As long as there are still objects to process,diamond 196 transfers control to block 198. Block 198 determines if theobject being processed should grow based on a condition being satisfied,such as a particular day of the month occurring. Block 198 thentransfers control to decision diamond 200. If the object will not “fire”i.e. grow, decision diamond 200 transfers control to block 202. If theobject being processed will not grow, decision diamond 200 transferscontrol back to block 196. Block 202 adds objects which will grow to agrowth list for further processing. After adding the object to thegrowth list, block 202 transfers control back to block 196 to processanother object. Once all of the objects have been processed, block 196transfers control to block 204. Block 204 determines the dependenciesamong the objects in the growth list and sorts the growth listaccordingly. Block 204 then transfers control to block 206 andde-activates sub-engine 192 and returns to block 208 of FIG. 10.

[0081]FIG. 10 shows sub-engine 208 which grows each of the objects onthe growth list created by sub-engine 192. Sub-engine 208 corresponds toblock 82 in FIG. 2. Block 210 of sub-engine 208 provides each of theobjects in the growth list in order to block 212. Block 212 evaluatesthe growth tree for the object being processed and transfers control toblock 214. Block 214 assigns a value to the growth of the object basedon the evaluation performed in block 212 and add this value to the valueof the object. Block 210 then transfers control to block 216 which endsthe processing for the current object and transfers control back toblock 210 to process the next object in order as long as there areobjects remaining to be processed. When all objects are processed, block210 transfers control to block 84 of FIG. 2.

[0082] Although one embodiment of the numeric analysis engine of presentinvention has been described and illustrated in the drawing figures,there are many ways that the numeric analysis engine of the presentinvention could be put together using various combinations ofsub-engines.

[0083] In addition to providing a numeric analysis engine, the presentinvention also provides single icons which represent the rows andcolumns of a conventional computer spreadsheet. Because each object ofthe present invention can have a number of mathematical functionsassociated therewith, each object may function like a row or column of aconventional spreadsheet. Because a single icon of the present inventionmay represent each object, a user can treat the icons as the rows and/orcolumns of a spreadsheet and the pipe objects as mathematicalrelationships i.e. computer programs which link the rows and columns ofa spreadsheet. Therefore, the novel icons of the present invention allowa user to display on a single level, information which wouldconventionally require several levels of spreadsheet displays.

[0084] The present invention is preferably used with a windows-typecomputer operating system such as Microsoft Windows®, Microsoft WindowsNT®, UNIX® etc. which employ icons to display information to a user.

[0085] Although the present invention has been primarily described as tohow it may be used in connection with tracking and planning anindividual's, a household's or a business' finances and budgets, thepresent invention may have other uses as well, besides illustrating anentity's financial status, actual or hypothetical. For example, thepresent invention may be used to display how many goods produced by abusiness will be sold and how many goods will need to be inventorieddepending on market conditions. When the present invention is used inthis way, the inflows can represent various goods produced by abusiness, the outflows can represent the goods sold, and the accountscan represent the goods which have been produced but have not yet beensold. The present invention may also be used to keep track of servicerelated items such as the number of seats available on planes of anairline, or the number and type of employees or employee hours availableto do particular projects, etc.

[0086] Although the present invention has been fully described inconjunction with the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that various changes andmodifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changesand modifications are to be understood as included within the scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims, unless theydepart therefrom.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented in a computer system fordynamically generating the status of a numeric system comprising thesteps of: generating at least one first inflow object having an initialvalue and properties; generating at least one first account objecthaving an initial value and properties; generating at least one firstpipe object which defines a first mathematical relationship between saidat least one inflow object and said at least one first account object;generating an adjusted value for said first inflow object based on atleast one member of the group consisting of said first inflow objectinitial value, said first inflow object properties, said first accountobject initial value, said first account object properties, and saidfirst mathematical relationship; and generating an adjusted value forsaid first account object based on at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first inflow object initial value, said first inflowobject properties, said first account object initial value, said firstaccount object properties, and said first mathematical relationship. 2.The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first inflow object initial value, said first inflowobject properties, and said first inflow object adjusted value isgenerated when an event object fires.
 3. The method of claim 1 , whereinat least one member of the group consisting of said first account objectinitial value, said first account object properties, and said firstaccount object adjusted value is generated when an event object fires.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first inflow object initial value, said first inflowobject properties, and said first inflow object adjusted value isgenerated when a monitor object fires.
 5. The method of claim 1 ,wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstaccount object initial value, said first account object properties, andsaid first account object adjusted value is generated when a monitorobject fires.
 6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:generating at least one first variable object having a value andproperties.
 7. The method of claim 6 , wherein at least one member ofthe group consisting of said first inflow object initial value, saidfirst inflow object properties, and said first inflow object adjustedvalue is generated based on at least one member of the group consistingof said first variable object value and said first variable objectproperties.
 8. The method of claim 6 , wherein at least one member ofthe group consisting of said first account object initial value, saidfirst account object properties, and said first account object adjustedvalue is generated based on at least one member of the group consistingof said first variable object value and said first variable objectproperties.
 9. The method of claim 6 , wherein said at least one firstvariable object comprises at least two first variable objects.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 , wherein at least one member of the group consistingof said first inflow object initial value, said first inflow objectproperties, and said first inflow object adjusted value is generatedbased on at least one member of the group consisting of the value andproperties of one of said first variable objects and wherein at leastone member of the group consisting of said first account object initialvalue, said first account object properties, and said first accountobject adjusted value is generated based on the value and properties ofa second one of said first variable objects.
 11. The method of claim 6 ,wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstvariable object value and said first variable object properties isgenerated when an event fires.
 12. The method of claim 6 , wherein atleast one member of the group consisting of said first variable objectvalue and said first variable object properties is altered when an eventfires.
 13. The method of claim 6 , wherein at least one member of thegroup consisting of said first variable object value and said firstvariable object properties is generated when a monitor fires.
 14. Themethod of claim 6 , wherein said at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first variable object value and said first variableobject properties is altered when a monitor fires.
 15. The method ofclaim 1 , further comprising the step of altering said relationshipdefined by said first pipe object when an event object fires.
 16. Themethod of claim 1 , further comprising the step of: altering saidrelationship defined by said at least one first pipe object when amonitor object fires.
 17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising thestep of: generating a first supplementary pipe object defining asupplementary first mathematical relationship between said first inflowobject and said first account object when a monitor object fires. 18.The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one first inflow objectcomprises at least two first inflow objects.
 19. The method of claim 1 ,wherein said at least one first account object comprises at least twofirst account objects.
 20. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at leastone first pipe object comprises at least two first pipe objects, each ofsaid at least two first pipe objects defining a mathematicalrelationship between said at least one first inflow object and said atleast one first outflow object.
 21. The method of claim 1 , furthercomprising the steps of: generating at least one first outflow objecthaving an initial value and properties; generating at least one secondpipe object which defines a second mathematical relationship betweensaid at least one account object and said at least one first outflowobject; adjusting said adjusted value for said first account objectbased on at least one member of the group consisting of said firstoutflow object initial value, said first outflow object properties, andsaid second mathematical relationship to generate a second adjustedvalue for said first account; and generating a first adjusted value forsaid first outflow object based on at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first account object second adjusted value, saidfirst account object properties, said first outflow object initialvalue, said first outflow object properties, and said secondmathematical relationship.
 22. The method of claim 21 , furthercomprising the steps of: generating at least one second outflow objecthaving an initial value and properties; generating at least one thirdpipe object which defines a third mathematical relationship between saidat least one first inflow object and said at least one second outflowobject; adjusting said first inflow object adjusted value based on atleast one member of the group consisting of said second outflow objectinitial value, said second outflow object properties, and said thirdmathematical relationship to generate a third adjusted value for saidfirst inflow object; and generating an adjusted value for said secondoutflow object based on at least one member of the group consisting ofsaid first inflow object adjusted value, said first inflow objectproperties, said second outflow object initial value, s aid secondoutflow object properties, and said third mathematical relationship. 23.The method of claim 21 , wherein said at least one first outflow objectcomprises at least two first outflow objects.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstoutflow object initial value, said first outflow object properties, andsaid first outflow object adjusted value is generated when an eventobject fires.
 25. The method of claim 21 , wherein at least one memberof the group consisting of said first outflow object initial value, saidfirst outflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjustedvalue is generated when a monitor object fires.
 26. The method of claim21 , further comprising the step of: altering said relationship definedby said at least one second pipe object when an event object fires. 27.The method of claim 21 , further comprising the step of: altering saidrelationship defined by said at least one second pipe object when amonitor object fires.
 28. The method of claim 21 , further comprisingthe steps of: generating at least one second outflow object having aninitial value and properties; generating at least one third pipe objectwhich defines a third mathematical relationship between said at leastone first inflow object and said at least one second outflow object;adjusting said first inflow object adjusted value based on at least onemember of the group consisting of said first outflow object initialvalue, said first outflow object properties, and said secondmathematical relationship to generate a second adjusted value for saidfirst inflow object; and generating an adjusted value for said secondoutflow object based on at least one member of the group consisting ofsaid first inflow object adjusted value, said first inflow objectproperties, said second outflow object initial value, said secondoutflow object properties, and said third mathematical relationship. 29.The method of claim 28 , wherein said at least one second outflow objectcomprises at least two first outflow objects.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said secondoutflow object initial value, said second outflow object properties, andsaid second outflow adjusted value is generated when an event objectfires.
 31. The method of claim 28 , wherein at least one member of thegroup consisting of said second outflow object initial value, saidsecond outflow object properties, and said one second outflow objectadjusted value is generated when a monitor object fires.
 32. The methodof claim 28 , further comprising the step of: altering said relationshipdefined by said third pipe object when an event object fires.
 33. Themethod of claim 28 , farther comprising the step of: altering saidrelationship defined by said third pipe object when a monitor objectfires.
 34. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:displaying an icon representing said at least one first inflow object ona visual display apparatus.
 35. The method of claim 34 , wherein said atleast one first inflow object icon is a passive icon.
 36. The method ofclaim 34 , wherein said at least one first inflow object icon is anactive icon.
 37. The method of claim 34 , further comprising displayingsaid initial value of said at least one first inflow object on a visualdisplay apparatus.
 38. The method of claim 34 , wherein said at leastone first inflow object comprises at least two first inflow objects anda respective individual icon is displayed on said visual displayapparatus for each of said at least two first inflow objects.
 39. Themethod of claim 34 , wherein said at least one first inflow objectcomprises at least two first inflow objects and said at least two firstinflow objects are represented on said visual display by at least onegroup icon.
 40. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displayingsaid initial value of said at least one first inflow object on a visualdisplay apparatus.
 41. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least onefirst inflow object generation step comprises the sub-steps of:generating a preliminary value for said inflow object; and adjustingsaid preliminary value for said inflow object to generate an initialvalue for said inflow object when an event object fires.
 42. The methodof claim 1 , wherein said at least one first inflow object generationstep comprises the sub-steps of: generating a preliminary value for saidinflow object; and adjusting said preliminary value for said inflowobject to generate an initial value for said inflow object when amonitor object fires.
 43. The method of claim 1 , further comprising thestep of: displaying an icon representing said at least one first accountobject on a visual display apparatus.
 44. The method of claim 43 ,wherein said at least one first account object icon is a passive icon.45. The method of claim 43 , wherein said at least one first accountobject icon is an active icon.
 46. The method of claim 43 , furthercomprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least one firstaccount object on a visual display apparatus.
 47. The method of claim 43, wherein said at least one first account object comprises at least twofirst account objects and a respective individual icon is displayed onsaid visual display apparatus for each of said at least two firstaccount objects.
 48. The method of claim 43 , wherein said at least onefirst account object comprises at least two first account objects andsaid at least two first account objects are represented on said visualdisplay by at least one group icon.
 49. The method of claim 1 , furthercomprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least one firstaccount object on a visual display apparatus.
 50. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: displaying an icon representing saidat least one first pipe object on a visual display apparatus.
 51. Themethod of claim 50 , wherein said at least one first pipe object icon isa passive icon.
 52. The method of claim 51 , wherein said at least onefirst pipe object icon is an active icon.
 53. The method of claim 50 ,wherein said at least one first pipe object comprises at least two firstpipe objects and a respective individual icon is displayed on saidvisual display apparatus for each of said at least two first pipeobjects.
 54. The method of claim 50 , wherein said at least one firstpipe object comprises at least two first pipe objects and said at leasttwo first pipe objects are represented on said visual display by atleast one group icon.
 55. The method of claim 1 , further comprising thestep of: displaying a heterogeneous group icon representing said atleast one first inflow object, said at least one first account objectand said at least one first pipe object.
 56. A method implemented in acomputer system for dynamically generating the status of a numericsystem comprising the steps of: generating at least one first accountobject having an initial value and properties; generating at least onefirst outflow object having an initial value and properties; generatingat least one first pipe object which defines a first mathematicalrelationship between said at least one account object and said at leastone first outflow object; generating an adjusted value for said firstaccount object based on at least one member of the group consisting ofsaid first account object initial value, said first account objectproperties, said first outflow object initial value, said first outflowobject properties, and said first mathematical relationship; andgenerating an adjusted value for said first outflow object based on atleast one member of the group consisting of said first account objectinitial value, said first account object properties, said first outflowobject initial value, said first outflow object properties, and saidfirst mathematical relationship.
 57. The method of claim 56 , wherein atleast one member of the group consisting of said first account objectinitial value, said first account object properties, and said firstaccount object adjusted value is generated when an event object fires.58. The method of claim 56 , wherein at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first outflow object initial value, said firstoutflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjusted valueis generated when an event object fires.
 59. The method of claim 56 ,wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstaccount object initial value, said first account object properties, andsaid first account object adjusted value is generated when a monitorobject fires.
 60. The method of claim 56 , wherein at least one memberof the group consisting of said first outflow object initial value, saidfirst outflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjustedvalue is generated when a monitor object fires.
 61. The method of claim56 , further comprising the step of: generating at least one firstvariable object having a value and properties.
 62. The method of claim61 , wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstaccount object initial value, said first account object properties, andsaid first account object adjusted value is generated based on at leastone member of the group consisting of the value and properties of saidfirst variable object.
 63. The method of claim 61 , wherein at least onemember of the group consisting of said first outflow object initialvalue, said first outflow object properties, and said first outflowobject adjusted value is generated based on at least one member of thegroup consisting of the value and properties of one first variableobject.
 64. The method of claim 61 , wherein said at least one firstvariable object comprises at least two first variable objects.
 65. Themethod of claim 64 , wherein at least one member of the group consistingof said first account object initial value, said first account objectproperties, and said first account object adjusted value is generatedbased on at least one member of the group consisting of the value andproperties of one of said first variable objects and wherein at leastone member of the group consisting of said first outflow object initialvalue, said first outflow object properties, and said first outflowobject adjusted value is generated based on the value and properties ofa second one of said first variable objects.
 66. The method of claim 61, wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstvariable object value and said first variable object properties isgenerated when an event fires.
 67. The method of claim 61 , wherein atleast one member of the group consisting of said first variable objectvalue and said first variable object properties is altered when an eventfires.
 68. The method of claim 61 , wherein at least one member of thegroup consisting of said first variable object value and said firstvariable object properties is generated when a monitor fires.
 69. Themethod of claim 61 , wherein said at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first variable object value and said first variableobject properties is altered when a monitor fires.
 70. The method ofclaim 56 , further comprising the step of: altering said relationshipdefined by said first pipe object when an event object fires.
 71. Themethod of claim 56 , further comprising the step of: altering saidrelationship defined by said at least one first pipe object when amonitor object fires.
 72. The method of claim 56 , wherein said at leastone first account object comprises at least two first account objects.73. The method of claim 56 , wherein said at least one first outflowobject comprises at least two first outflow objects.
 74. The method ofclaim 56 wherein said at least one first pipe object comprises at leasttwo first pipe objects, each of said at least two first pipe objectsdefining a mathematical relationship between said at least one firstaccount object and said at least one first outflow object.
 75. Themethod of claim 56 , further comprising the step of: displaying an iconrepresenting said at least one first account object on a visual displayapparatus.
 76. The method of claim 75 , wherein said at least one firstaccount object icon is a passive icon.
 77. The method of claim 75 ,wherein said at least one first account object icon is an active icon.78. The method of claim 75 , further comprising displaying said adjustedvalue of said at least one first account object on a visual displayapparatus.
 79. The method of claim 75 , wherein said at least one firstaccount object comprises at least two first account objects and arespective individual icon is displayed on said visual display apparatusfor each of said at least two first account objects.
 80. The method ofclaim 75 , wherein said at least one first account object comprises atleast two first account objects and said at least two first accountobjects are represented on said visual display by at least one groupicon.
 81. The method of claim 56 , further comprising displaying saidadjusted value of said at least one first account object on a visualdisplay apparatus.
 82. The method of claim 56 , further comprising thestep of: displaying an icon representing said at least one first outflowobject on a visual display apparatus.
 83. The method of claim 82 ,wherein said at least one first outflow object icon is a passive icon.84. The method of claim 82 , wherein said at least one first outflowobject icon is an active icon.
 85. The method of claim 82 , furthercomprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least one firstoutflow object on a visual display apparatus.
 86. The method of claim 82, wherein said at least one first outflow object comprises at least twofirst account objects and a respective individual icon is displayed onsaid visual display apparatus for each of said at least two firstoutflow objects.
 87. The method of claim 82 , wherein said at least onefirst outflow object comprises at least two first outflow objects andsaid at least two first outflow objects are represented on said visualdisplay by at least one group icon.
 88. The method of claim 56 , furthercomprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least one firstoutflow object on a visual display apparatus.
 89. The method of claim 56, further comprising the step of: displaying an icon representing saidat least one first pipe object on a visual display apparatus.
 90. Themethod of claim 89 , wherein said at least one first pipe object icon isa passive icon.
 91. The method of claim 89 , wherein said at least onefirst pipe object icon is an active icon.
 92. The method of claim 89 ,wherein said at least one first pipe object comprises at least two firstaccount objects and a respective individual icon is displayed on saidvisual display apparatus for each of said at least two first pipeobjects.
 93. The method of claim 89 , wherein said at least one firstpipe object comprises at least two first pipe objects and said at leasttwo first pipe objects are represented on said visual display by atleast one group icon.
 94. The method of claim 56 , further comprisingthe step of: displaying a heterogeneous group icon representing said atleast one first account object, said at least one first outflow objectand said at least one first pipe object.
 95. A method implemented in acomputer system for dynamically generating the status of a numericsystem comprising the steps of: generating at least one first inflowobject having an initial value and properties; generating at least onefirst outflow object having an initial value and properties; generatingat least one first pipe object which defines a first mathematicalrelationship between said at least one inflow object and said at leastone first outflow object; generating an adjusted value for said firstinflow object based on at least one member of the group consisting ofsaid first inflow object initial value, said first inflow objectproperties, said first outflow object initial value, said first outflowobject properties, and said first mathematical relationship; andgenerating an adjusted value for said first outflow object based on atleast one member of the group consisting of said first inflow objectinitial value, said first inflow object properties, said first outflowobject initial value, said first outflow object properties, and saidfirst mathematical relationship.
 96. The method of claim 95 , wherein atleast one member of the group consisting of said first inflow objectinitial value, said first inflow object properties, and said firstinflow object adjusted value is generated when an event object fires.97. The method of claim 95 , wherein at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first outflow object initial value, said firstoutflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjusted valueis generated when an event object fires.
 98. The method of claim 95 ,wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said first inflowobject initial value, said first inflow object properties, and saidfirst inflow object adjusted value is generated when a monitor objectfires.
 99. The method of claim 95 , wherein at least one member of thegroup consisting of said first outflow object initial value, said firstoutflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjusted valueis generated when a monitor object fires.
 100. The method of claim 95 ,further comprising the step of: generating at least one first variableobject having a value and properties.
 101. The method of claim 100 ,wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said first inflowobject initial value, said first inflow object properties, and saidfirst inflow object adjusted value is based on at least one member ofthe group consisting of the value and properties of said first variableobject.
 102. The method of claim 100 , wherein at least one member ofthe group consisting of said first outflow object initial value, saidfirst outflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjustedvalue is generated based on at least one member of the group consistingof the value and properties of said first variable object.
 103. Themethod of claim 101 , wherein said at least one first variable objectcomprises at least two first variable objects.
 104. The method of claim103 , wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstinflow object initial value, said first inflow object properties, andsaid first inflow object adjusted value is generated based on at leastone member of the group consisting of the value and properties of one ofsaid first variable objects and wherein at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first outflow object initial value, said firstoutflow object properties, and said first outflow object adjusted valueis generated based on the value and properties of a second one of saidfirst variable objects.
 105. The method of claim 101 , wherein at leastone member of the group consisting of said first variable object valueand said first variable object properties is generated when an eventfires.
 106. The method of claim 101 , wherein at least one member of thegroup consisting of said first variable object value and said firstvariable object properties is altered when an event fires.
 108. Themethod of claim 101 , wherein at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first variable object value and said first variableobject properties is generated when a monitor fires.
 109. The method ofclaim 101 , wherein said at least one member of the group consisting ofsaid first variable object value and said first variable objectproperties is altered when a monitor fires.
 110. The method of claim 95, further comprising the step of: altering said relationship defined bysaid first pipe object when an event object fires.
 111. The method ofclaim 95 , further comprising the step of: altering said relationshipdefined by said at least one first pipe object when a monitor objectfires.
 112. The method of claim 95 , wherein said at least one firstinflow object comprises at least two first inflow objects.
 113. Themethod of claim 95 , wherein said at least one first outflow objectcomprises at least two first outflow objects.
 114. The method of claim95 , wherein said at least one first pipe object comprises at least twofirst pipe objects, each of said at least two first pipe objectsdefining a mathematical relationship between said at least one firstinflow object and said at least one first outflow object.
 115. Themethod of claim 95 , wherein said at least one first inflow objectgeneration step comprises the sub-steps of: generating a preliminaryvalue for said inflow object; and adjusting said preliminary value forsaid inflow object to generate an initial value for said inflow objectwhen an event object fires.
 116. The method of claim 95 , wherein saidat least one first inflow object generation step comprises the sub-stepsof: generating a preliminary value for said inflow object; and adjustingsaid preliminary value for said inflow object to generate an initialvalue for said inflow object when a monitor object fires.
 117. Themethod of claim 95 , further comprising the step of: displaying an iconrepresenting said at least one first inflow object on a visual displayapparatus.
 118. The method of claim 117 , wherein said at least onefirst inflow object icon is a passive icon.
 119. The method of claim 117, wherein said at least one first inflow object icon is an active icon.120. The method of claim 117 , further comprising displaying saidinitial value of said at least one first inflow object on a visualdisplay apparatus.
 121. The method of claim 117 , wherein said at leastone first inflow object comprises at least two first inflow objects anda respective individual icon is displayed on said visual displayapparatus for each of said at least two first inflow objects.
 122. Themethod of claim 117 , wherein said at least one first inflow objectcomprises at least two first inflow objects and said at least two firstinflow objects are represented on said visual display by at least onegroup icon.
 123. The method of claim 95 , further comprising the stepof: displaying an icon representing said at least one first outflowobject on a visual display apparatus.
 124. The method of claim 123 ,wherein said at least one first outflow object icon is a passive icon.125. The method of claim 123 , wherein said at least one first outflowobject icon is an active icon.
 126. The method of claim 123 , furthercomprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least one firstoutflow object on a visual display apparatus.
 127. The method of claim123 , wherein said at least one first outflow object comprises at leasttwo first inflow objects and a respective individual icon is displayedon said visual display apparatus for each of said at least two firstoutflow objects.
 128. The method of claim 123 , wherein said at leastone first outflow object comprises at least two first outflow objectsand said at least two first outflow objects are represented on saidvisual display by at least one group icon.
 129. The method of claim 95 ,further comprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least onefirst outflow object on a visual display apparatus.
 130. The method ofclaim 95 , further comprising the step of: displaying an iconrepresenting said at least one first pipe object on a visual displayapparatus.
 131. The method of claim 95 , wherein said at least one firstpipe object icon is a passive icon.
 132. The method of claim 131 ,wherein said at least one first pipe object icon is an active icon. 133.The method of claim 131 , wherein said at least one first pipe objectcomprises at least two first pipe objects and a respective individualicon is displayed on said visual display apparatus for each of said atleast two first pipe objects.
 134. The method of claim 131 , whereinsaid at least one first pipe object comprises at least two first pipeobjects and said at least two first pipe objects are represented on saidvisual display by at least one group icon.
 135. The method of claim 95 ,further comprising the step of: displaying a heterogeneous group iconrepresenting said at least one first inflow object, said at least onefirst outflow object and said at least one first pipe object.
 136. Amethod implemented in a computer system for dynamically generating thestatus of a numeric system comprising the steps of: generating at leastone first account object having an initial value and properties;generating at least one second account object having an initial valueand properties; generating at least one first pipe object which definesa first mathematical relationship between said at least one firstaccount object and said at least one second account object; generatingan adjusted value for said first account object based on at least onemember of the group consisting of said first account object initialvalue, said first account object properties, said second account objectinitial value, said second account object properties, and said firstmathematical relationship; and generating an adjusted value for saidsecond account object based on at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first account object initial value, said firstaccount object properties, said second account object initial value,said second account object properties, and said first mathematicalrelationship.
 137. The method of claim 136 , wherein at least one memberof the group consisting of said first account object initial value, saidfirst account object properties, and said first account object adjustedvalue is generated when an event object fires.
 138. The method of claim136 , wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said secondaccount object initial value, said second account object properties, andsaid second account object adjusted value is generated when an eventobject fires.
 139. The method of claim 136 , wherein at least one memberof the group consisting of said first account object initial value, saidfirst account object properties, and said first account object adjustedvalue is generated when a monitor object fires.
 140. The method of claim136 , wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said secondaccount object initial value, said second account object properties, andsaid second account object adjusted value is generated when a monitorobject fires.
 141. The method of claim 136 , further comprising the stepof: generating at least one first variable object having a value andproperties.
 142. The method of claim 141 , wherein said first inflowobject adjusted value is generated based on at least one member of thegroup consisting of the value and properties of said first variableobject.
 143. The method of claim 141 , wherein said first account objectadjusted value is generated based on at least one member of the groupconsisting of the value and properties of said first variable object.144. The method of claim 141 , wherein said at least one first variableobject comprises at least two first variable objects.
 145. The method ofclaim 144 , wherein at least one member of the group consisting of saidfirst account object initial value, said first account objectproperties, and said first account object adjusted value is generatedbased on at least one member of the group consisting of the value andproperties of one of said first variable objects and wherein at leastone member of the group consisting of said second account object initialvalue, said second account object properties, and said second accountobject adjusted value is generated based on the value and properties ofa second one of said first variable objects.
 146. The method of claim141 , wherein at least one member of the group consisting of said firstvariable object value and said first variable object properties isgenerated when an event fires.
 147. The method of claim 141 , wherein atleast one member of the group consisting of said first variable objectvalue and said first variable object properties is altered when an eventfires.
 148. The method of claim 141 , wherein at least one member of thegroup consisting of said first variable object value and said firstvariable object properties is generated when a monitor fires.
 149. Themethod of claim 141 , wherein said at least one member of the groupconsisting of said first variable object value and said first variableobject properties is altered when a monitor fires.
 150. The method ofclaim 136 , further comprising the step of: altering said relationshipdefined by said first pipe object when an event object fires.
 151. Themethod of claim 136 , further comprising the step of: altering saidrelationship defined by said at least one first pipe object when amonitor object fires.
 152. The method of claim 136 , further comprisingthe step of: generating a first supplementary pipe object defining asupplementary first mathematical relationship between said first accountobject and said second account object when a monitor object fires. 153.The method of claim 136 , wherein said at least one first account objectcomprises at least two first account objects.
 154. The method of claim136 , wherein said at least one second account object comprises at leasttwo second account objects.
 155. The method of claim 136 , wherein saidat least one first pipe object comprises at least two first pipeobjects, each of said at least two first pipe objects defining amathematical relationship between said at least one first account objectand said at least one second account object.
 156. The method of claim136 , wherein said at least one first account object generation stepcomprises the sub-steps of: generating a preliminary value for saidinflow object; and adjusting said preliminary value for said inflowobject to generate an initial value for said inflow object when an eventobject fires.
 157. The method of claim 136 , wherein said at least onefirst account object generation step comprises the sub-steps of:generating a preliminary value for said inflow object; and adjustingsaid preliminary value for said inflow object to generate an initialvalue for said inflow object when a monitor object fires.
 158. Themethod of claim 136 , further comprising the step of: displaying an iconrepresenting said at least one first account object on a visual displayapparatus.
 159. The method of claim 158 , wherein said at least onefirst account object icon is a passive icon.
 160. The method of claim158 , wherein said at least one first account object icon is an activeicon.
 161. The method of claim 158 , further comprising displaying saidadjusted value of said at least one first account object on a visualdisplay apparatus.
 162. The method of claim 158 , wherein said at leastone first account object comprises at least two first account objectsand a respective individual icon is displayed on said visual displayapparatus for each of said at least two first account objects.
 163. Themethod of claim 158 , wherein said at least one first account objectcomprises at least two first account objects and said at least two firstaccount objects are represented on said visual display by at least onegroup icon.
 164. The method of claim 136 , further comprising the stepof: displaying an icon representing said at least one second accountobject on a visual display apparatus.
 165. The method of claim 164 ,wherein said at least one second account object icon is a passive icon.166. The method of claim 164 , wherein said at least one second accountobject icon is an active icon.
 167. The method of claim 164 , furthercomprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least one secondaccount object on a visual display apparatus.
 168. The method of claim164 , wherein said at least one second account object comprises at leasttwo first account objects and a respective individual icon is displayedon said visual display apparatus for each of said at least two secondaccount objects.
 169. The method of claim 164 , wherein said at leastone second account object comprises at least two second account objectsand said at least two second account objects are represented on saidvisual display by at least one group icon.
 170. The method of claim 136, further comprising displaying said adjusted value of said at least onesecond account object on a visual display apparatus.
 171. The method ofclaim 136 , further comprising the step of: displaying an iconrepresenting said at least one first pipe object on a visual displayapparatus.
 172. The method of claim 136 , wherein said at least onefirst pipe object icon is a passive icon.
 173. The method of claim 172 ,wherein said at least one first pipe object icon is an active icon. 174.The method of claim 172 , wherein said at least one first pipe objectcomprises at least two first pipe objects and a respective individualicon is displayed on said visual display apparatus for each of said atleast two first pipe objects.
 175. The method of claim 724, wherein saidat least one first pipe object comprises at least two first pipe objectsand said at least two first pipe objects are represented on said visualdisplay by at least one group icon.
 176. A numeric object having agrowth property implemented in a computer system.
 177. The numericobject of claim 176 , wherein said numeric object comprises an inflowobject.
 178. The numeric object of claim 176 , wherein said numericobject comprises an outflow object.
 179. The numeric object of claim 176, wherein said numeric object comprises an account object.
 180. Thenumeric object of claim 176 , wherein said numeric object comprises avariable object.
 181. A single numeric object comprising a column ofcells of a spreadsheet.
 182. The numeric object of claim 181 , whereinsaid numeric object is represented on a visual display apparatus by atleast one icon.
 183. A single numeric object comprising a row of cellsof a spreadsheet.
 184. The numeric object of claim 183 , wherein saidnumeric object is represented on a visual display apparatus by at leastone icon.
 185. A method implemented in a computer system for dynamicallygenerating the status of a numeric system comprising the steps of:generating at least one first numeric object having an initial value andproperties; generating at least one first conditional object; andgenerating an adjusted value for said first numeric object based on atleast one member of the group consisting of said first numeric objectinitial value and said first numeric object properties when said atleast one first conditional object fires.
 186. The method of claim 185 ,wherein said at least one numeric object comprises an inflow object.187. The method of claim 185 , wherein said at least one numeric objectcomprises an account object.
 188. The method of claim 185 , wherein saidat least one numeric object comprises an outflow object.
 189. The methodof claim 185 , wherein said at least one numeric object comprises anvariable object.
 190. The method of claim 185 , wherein said at leastone conditional object comprises an event object.
 191. The method ofclaim 185 , wherein said at least one conditional object comprises amonitor object.